Esther McVey has urged Government to set out a time scale for when hotels being used to home asylum seekers will be freed up.

The Tatton MP said it cannot be a long term solution and has been contacted by concerned residents.

Speaking in Home Office questions Ms McVey called for action.

She said: “Residents of Tatton are concerned about the ongoing nature of supposedly temporary accommodation for immigrants arriving in the local areas.

“Some hotels are now becoming full time immigration centres and those residing there are in limbo in our town centres. Can the secretary of state tell me what the time scale is for processing these individuals and the time scale to revert this accommodation back to hotels.”

Home Secretary Priti Patel said Government had plans to change the way asylum seekers are looked after and hotels were used as a result of the pandemic as people had to be protected under Covid measures.

She added: “There are changes linked to the new plan for immigration where we will be ending the use of hotel accommodation for asylum seekers. That was a short term solution and our new plan for immigration has long term changes is in the offing for asylum accommodation.”

The measures will be set out in the Nationalising Borders Bill currently before Parliament. 

Asylum seekers being housed in hotels are not people fleeing from Afghanistan.